This blog is totally independent, unpaid and has only three major objectives.
The first is to inform readers of news and happenings in the e-Health domain, both here in Australia and world-wide.
The second is to provide commentary on e-Health in Australia and to foster improvement where I can.
The third is to encourage discussion of the matters raised in the blog so hopefully readers can get a balanced view of what is really happening and what successes are being achieved.

Friday, March 08, 2013

It Seems To Me This Is Pretty Important Stuff. Read And Learn.

North Memorial Health Care, a two-hospital health system situated in the Northwest metro of Minneapolis, has reduced its rate of potentially harmful and unnecessary early-term deliveries, using data warehousing and analytics.

Officials at the health system cited difficulties integrating data from the variety of different clinical IT systems employed by North Memorial as cause for implementing new solutions. Clinical data was collected by a Health Catalyst warehousing solution from sources including North Memorial's Epicelectronic health record. Officials then defined when early-term deliveries were appropriate, standardized clinician workflows and improved processes for pregnant women and newborn care.

The health system's use of the technology and the team processes it developed reduced its rate of elective pre 39-week deliveries by 75 percent in six months, from 1.2 percent to 0.3 percent of all births (officials at the health system had originally set a goal of 0.6 percent).

North Memorial officials point to studies suggesting that elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks increase the risk of newborn respiratory distress in addition to the rates of C-sections, which can lead to postpartum anemia and extendeded hospital stays. Cutting the odds of these complications, officials add, is becoming increasingly critical for hospitals as they struggle to adjust to rising costs, stiff regional pressures from competitors and reimbursement trends.